


Something You're Good At

by Marie_Fanwriter



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Baking, M/M, Multi, New Skills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 09:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11940888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Fanwriter/pseuds/Marie_Fanwriter
Summary: The Daedalus is in transit between the Citadel and the team's next mission objective. There's enough time to relax and discuss, and possibly bake?Shameless fluff based on characters from Either Die a Hero by Kuraiummei. Mild swearing.





	Something You're Good At

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kuraiummei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuraiummei/gifts).



> This fluff piece was inspired by Kuraiummei's Either Die a Hero. https://archiveofourown.org/works/7711198
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Mari- Mother  
> Bellaria- Latin for dessert

Nihlus lounged back on the couch of the  _ Daedalus _ . Feet in their sniper’s lap. Somehow he still managed to look intimidating, sprawled in nothing but his tight under armor pants all bare feet and angles. “Come on, Rix. There’s gotta be something you’re good at.”

He sighed, they’d had this conversation before. After Saren had decided that he was decidedly average at everything upon completion of the Spectres’ tests. “I told you before Kryik, I’m good at a lot of things. Just nothing is good enough.” 

“Your aim?”

“Decent. But not to the godlike level of our detective friend,” he gestured at said turian, who was looking equally relaxed in casuals.

Vakarian looked up from his datapad when he was mentioned. “No one is on my level,” he replied, overly cocky as he always was when someone mentioned shooting around him. But he wasn’t distracted long, instead dropping his head back to whatever it was he was reading. Avitus’ attempt to get the sniper involved failed.

“Engineering?”

“Now you’re just trying to inflate my ego,” Garrus hummed as he poked the Spectre in the side.

The agent flinched away from his hand, stifling a laugh. “Fine… uh… languages?”

Rix sighed. “I speak turian closed, turian trade, enough asari common to get by. Saren’s making me learn salarian and uhg batarian high court. Have you ever had to listen to that shit without a translator? It’s awful.”

Still he was undeterred and they went through another fifteen suggestions before he threw up his hands in defeat, successfully kicking the datapad from his sniper’s hands in the process. “There has to be someeeeetttthiiing!”

“I can… bake?”

It was Garrus who perked up at that answer, he had just begun to pin the young Spectre down in retaliation for kicking his pad away, he turned to the elder turian. “Really?”

“Yeah. Astine couldn’t get enough of my  _ Bellaria _ . If that’s any endorsement,” he shrugged. Also not going into details on the other reason why Astine had liked it when he made  _ Bellaria _ . Those of a more, eh, sexual nature. Food in exchange for favours.

Nihlus grinned, and Avitus knew he was done for. “Oh this is going to be good.”

“What is?” Saren asked from the door. Having, as always, chosen the exact right moment to enter the room. An uncanny ability.

“Rix was just tellin’ Garrus and I how he can bake.”

Saren turned his gaze to his newest apprentice, slightly baffled. “You had not informed me,” he stated calmly. Accusatory in a way that only the seasoned Spectre could manage. “You have been adequate at preparing meals thus far, though that does not equate to baking. As I’m sure you’re aware if you are indeed as good as you say.”

One hand rubbed at the back of his fringe as Rix looked at the ceiling, cursing himself yet again for being dragged into this. This being a combination of the entire situation and this specific discussion. “I’m not a professional,” he defended.

“Regardless,” his mentor dismissed his retort. “We have another twelve hours in transit before the next relay jump. There is time.”

“Now?” Avitus exclaimed, half trying to hide his surprise and half giving into it. But the younger turian was already turned away, halfway into the kitchen. Blatantly ignoring his stupid question. He took a moment to glare at his fellow protege before following his mentor. Nihlus just waved. Garrus at least had the decency to look a little sorry for him.

When he reached the kitchen, Saren was already collecting ingredients from various cabinets and cold storage. “What would you consider to be your specialty?” he asked without looking up.

“ _ Bellaria _ ,” Rix replied easily. His Mari had taught him to make it as a child, he’d been decent back then, getting better with experience and age. It was a relatively complex pastry based dessert with minced sweet meats that took a certain finesse to get right, only years of practice brought out a good pastry. It was an art. 

The pale turian just hummed in reply, pulling out the correct ingredients from memory.  _ Was there nothing he didn’t know by heart? _

“We will each make a batch,” he explained cooly. “I’m sure the other two will not mind testing the results.”

Rix choked on a laugh, covering it only barely with a cough. “A competition?”

Saren did look up at that. “I suppose. Unless you do not feel your dish would be up to standard?”

_ Oh… it’s on. No one insults my mari’s Bellaria recipe.  _

Avitus, didn’t reply. He just got to work. 

+-+-+-+-

Three hours later the ship smelled absolutely heavenly. 

Despite having different methods for the same dish, the desserts came out of the dual oven around the same time. Each cooked with nearly the same ingredients looked very different. Saren’s were perfectly shaped rounds with a lattice pastry weave over top of a deep brown, almost black, sweet meat mince. While Avitus’ were a longer oval shape, an intricate leaf design set into the pastry that came out a stunning golden brown, his mince was a lighter colour too. 

Saren sent Avitus to fetch the other two turians aboard the ship while he made tea. They’d both been shooed out at least twice while they were baking. His mentor not wanting them to see which pastry belonged to master and which to apprentice. And maybe partly just because he wanted a little piece and quiet while he worked. The other two could be incorrigible. When he returned, four place settings were out. One of each tart on each plate. Tea steeping in the centre.

“Ohhhhh….” Nihlus moaned. “Hot damn, those smell amazing.”

Shaking his head at the never ending stream of profanity from his first protege, Saren reprimanded him in the same tired tone he always used. “Language, Nihlus.” 

The younger turian huffed as he dropped into his seat, muttering apologies. 

Garrus seemed equalled drawn in by the scent. “Reminds me of the Solstice celebrations during the wet season on Palaven. Mari used to make these for everyone.” Sitting down in his own chair, he helped himself to some of the tea in the middle, pouring it for the others as well. “Which is which?” he asked.

“We shall see if you can tell the difference,” the electric eyed Spectre replied before Avitus could tell him which he’d made. The brown turian’s skyllian five face was good at least, so that helped when Nihlus started guessing at which he’d made.

“Saren’s are the ones with leaves!” he exclaimed before picking it up and taking a large bite. His moan was obscene. “Yup. This is Saren’s. Spirits, this is good.”

The detective chuckled, taking the lattice covered one first. “I’m honestly not sure which is which.” He took a bite, savoring the pastry a lot longer than his partner did. “You’re wrong Palvi, this one is Saren’s.”

Avitus leaned back in his chair, looking pleased with himself. At the very least, he’d made a dessert good enough to fool Nihlus. And that was enough for him. He casually took a bite of the lattice pastry, it was good. He smiled internally, but not as good as his own. 

Cocking his head to the side in confusion, the red turian picked up the pastry he’d neglected and took a bite. “Naw Blue. I was right, this is good too, but the leaf one is Saren’s. It’s better.”

The sound of a spoon clinking as it fell to the table brought everyone’s attention to the pale plated Spectre at its head. Saren had just finished the leaf pastry and he was blinking in surprise, his face contorted as though something had bit him. 

“I guess that answers that question,” Garrus said with a laugh as he picked up the neglected dessert on his plate. He savoured it just as he’d done with Saren’s, but it was obvious which he enjoyed more. “Rix wins.”

Nihlus looked between his mentor and his fellow protege. His maw slightly agape, someone was better than Saren at one of his better known strengths. Sure, Garrus was a better sniper and he himself was a better infiltrator, but surely there wasn’t someone who could cook better than Saren other than professional chefs. “Seriously?” he asked, looking from the aghast Saren to the somewhat proud looking Avitus.

Who shrugged. “I guess you’re right Nihlus. I’m good at something after all.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> For reference:  
> Saren - https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQw2QQucliRVTJnbWCnyBcJoOOhVzaTzTpJBjXee7UJOOd3kdc6Sg  
> Avitus- http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/3064874508_56c898b20e.jpg


End file.
